As you read this article, the various notices for the 2014 plan year are freshly mailed. It is now time for plan sponsors and their advisers to sit down and review what worked in 2013 and what improvements can be made for 2014. This is also the time for human resources to review plan design optimization strategies to take advantage of ways to improve plan and participant outcomes.
Participants appear to recognize they are behind on saving for retirement. Only 30% of participants in the J.P. Morgan Asset Management survey said they expected their savings to last through their retirement years. Yet, the results show many participants are not confident in their ability to manage their retirement accounts. More than half (52%) said they don’t have sufficient talent to plan for retirement and almost half (44%) reported that they are receiving more 401(k) plan information than they can absorb. Is all the information helping or hurting plan participation? Will employees read the notices they are given, or is it a waste? Here are a few items to kick 2014 off:
